Seattle's 1914 Smith Tower -- Tallest in the Western USA

This blog normally features graphic art.  But it's true that Yr. Faithful Blogger has always been interested in architecture, so from time to time that is the subject of a post.

This post deals with Seattle's Smith Tower (L.C. Smith Building) that was completed in 1914.  Its Wikipedia entry is here.

For much of my early life, the Smith Tower was the tallest building in Seattle, tallest in the western USA, and it was a big deal to visit the observation deck and gaze down on the rest of downtown.

If memory serves, the same floor housed the Chinese Room. The Wikipedia entry states: "The Chinese Room, whose name was retired following the 2016 renovation, derived from the carved teak ceiling and blackwood furniture that adorned the room on opening. The room was furnished by the last Empress of China, Cixi. Furnishings include the famous Wishing Chair. The chair incorporates a carved dragon and a phoenix, which, when combined, portends marriage. According to folklore, any wishful unmarried person who sits in it would be married within a year."

The above photo was taken in the Chinese Room at a college fraternity Pledge Dance.  That's me and my date.  I'm not sure if we're seated in the chair just mentioned.  Perhaps not, because we never married one another.

Wikipedia notes that the Smith Tower has 38 floors.  But when I was young, it was claimed to have 42 stories: perhaps that included the beacon at the very top.

Architecturally, the Smith Tower is a blend of 1910 Chicago-style functionalism and historical detailing -- the latter in the form of a campanile style tower top.

Gallery

Early postcard view from Pioneer Square.  Note the "42 Story" claim.

Under-construction view showing completed steelwork.

Partly sheathed.  The building is not rectangular in plan-view.

Photo taken probably not long after completion.

Seattle skyline from around 1937.  The Smith building towers over the rest of the city, rivaled only by the Northern Life Tower at the left of the image.

Seattle skyline view taken by me in June 2019.  The Smith Tower is that tiny thing at the right of the photo.

Charles Wysocki: If Grandma Moses had Attended the Art Center School

Charles Wysocki (1928-2002) trained as an illustrator in the early 1950s at the (then) Art Center School in Los Angeles. At the height of his career he was well-known for painting country and village scenes in a faux-naïve/primitive style, many of which were used as the artwork for jigsaw puzzles. His Wikipedia entry is here.

He was surely aware of the paintings of Grandma Moses (1860-1961), famed for her untutored scenes of the northeastern New York State of her early years that fetch hundred of thousands of dollars at auction. As the title of this post suggests, Wysock's works might be considered what Moses might have painted had she an Art Center education.

Below are examples from both artists -- first Grandma Moses, then Wysocki.

Gallery

Over the River to Grandma's House - 1943
She painted many winter scenes.  Having spent four winter in the nearby Albany area, I can attest that four or five months of the year were snow-covered where she lived.

County Fair - 1950
A summertime scene.  Her ability to depict perspective was limited, so structures often appear flat. On the other hand, she does incorporate distance in most of her works.  Also, compare the inconsistent sizes of the people in the foreground, middle ground and background.

Yankee Wink Hollow
Now for Wysocki.  His scenes often contain distant backgrounds like Moses' works.  Buildings have a flattened appearance. Note here the small foreground houses, the larger middle ground objects and the small background objects -- much like what Grandma Moses did with people in the previous image.

Churchyard Christmas
Winter scene. As in the previous image, the background trees are stylized/geometrical in the same spirit as 1930s Regionalist paintings by the likes of Grant Wood.

Pete's Gambling Hall
Buildings are flattened, creating  design elements.

Twas the Night Before Christmas
This is more representational because correct perspective is incorporated in most structures.

Victorian Street
A very flat painting/design.

The Nantucket
Seashore, not countyside.

Olde Bucks County
This is stylized, but more representational than the images above. Unfortunately, I do not know if this was made before or later than the others.

Leo Putz -- Women's Faces in Detail

Leo Putz (1869-1940) was an Austrian painter who used interesting brushwork during one phase of his career -- about 1903-1912. That involved distinct brushstrokes often from what appears to have been square-tipped brushes.

His Wikipedia entry is here. I wrote about him here.

The present post presents a few examples of that brushwork style applied to faces of women. I hope you find these images interesting.

Gallery

Frieda Blell - Am Ufer detail - 1909Putz married Frieda around this time. He idealized her face here: it actually was more narrow.

Gusti Bennat - Dame in Blau detail - 1908Gusti modeled for him several times.

Gusti Benannt - 1908
A portrait of Gusti.

Sommerträme detail (model unknown) - 1907
From one of Putz's best-known paintings.

Mikhail Vrubel's Demon Series

Mikhail Vrubel (1856-1910) was an interesting Russian painter active in the late 19th century who I wrote about here.  I stated: "[He] began to work on images of a demon based on an epic poem by Mikhail Lermontov.  His first Demon painting in 1890 was noteworthy enough to launch his career."  Vroubel's lengthy Wikipedia entry is here.

The present post presents images from the Demon series that I found on the internet.  Having viewed many of the paintings in Russia several years ago, I can assure you that they are large and quite impressive when seen in person.  That said, some of the images below can be enlarged by clicking on them, though the impact is nothing like that of the real things.

Gallery

Head of a Demon (drawing) - c. 1890

Head of a Demon - 1890

Head of a Demon - c. 1890
Various Internet sites present this in different color schemes, so I don't know what the original colors were.

Flying Demon - 1899

The Demon Downcast - 1902
Wikipedia link here.

Seated Demon - 1890
Probably Vrubel's most famous Demon painting.  Wikipedia entry here.

Harry Anderson's Illustration Work

Joseph Harry Anderson (1906-1996) was a highly competent illustrator who is not well known despite the high regard he had (and has) among a number of practicing illustrators and illustration fans.

His Wikipedia entry is here, information about his painting technique is here (scroll down), and a website devoted to him is here.

After many years as a commercial illustrator, Harry Anderson largely switched to making large religion-themed paintings for the Seventh-Day Adventist and Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (Mormon) organizations. I focus on his commercial work here.

His illustration style was characterized by smoothly flowing transitions of shapes and colors, though his religious works and some commercial illustrations were more hard-edge. An interesting fact is that he was allergic to oil paints and had to switch to water based alternatives including gouache and casein.

Gallery

This is perhaps my most favorite Anderson illustration. Note the contre-jour depiction of the girl with its coloring and use of highlighted areas -- impressive.

Off to School
Again, note Anderson's use of highlights on the hair of his three main subjects. The man in the background is washed-out so as not to detract.

Story illustration from source unknown to me. From the early-to-mid 1940s to judge by the women's hairdos. Everything other than the featured couple is casually, sketchily painted. Nice, warm color scheme.

From Cosmopolitan Magazine - 1941
His depiction of light and shaded areas is skillful indeed.

From Good Housekeeping Magazine - 1943

From Ladies' Home Journal - 1950
The composition is in line with emerging American illustration fashion at that time.

Coronado's Men Find the Grand Canyon
Now for a hard-edge scene: I don't know the source.

Esso gasoline illustration - c. 1965
Also more in a hard-edge vein. The setting appears to be the Pebble Beach golf links by Carmel, California in the late 1920s.

Going into the Sun
Finally, Western subject matter. Again, sharper subjects and painterly background.

Georges Croegaert's Languorous Women and Off-Duty Cardinals

Georges Croegaert (1848-1923) was born in Antwerp and trained in art there. Then he moved to Paris where made his career. His Wikipedia entry is here.

These days his paintings can auction in the $15,000-$40,000 range, and apparently his career was successful. Rather than being avant-garde or painting strictly academic scenes, Croegaert seems to have settled into a groove of painting in genres popular with the art-buying public. In his case, these were images of attractive women in luxurious settings and pictures of Roman Catholic Cardinals in relaxed or informal settings.

Below are some examples of that variety of popular fare in the late 19th century and beyond.

Gallery

La lecture - 1890
This painting and the next three depict women reading.

A Good Read

Jeune femme lisant dans un intérieur japonisant - 1887

Leisure Hours

Reflections - 1886
Now for two paintings featuring women looking into mirrors.

The Mirror

Dreams of the Orient
A languorous lady in an Orientalist setting (Orientalism was another popular genre).

A Distinguished Visitor
Now a few Cardinals scenes.

A Church Legacy

Après le café

Walter G. Ratterman's Illustrations

Walter G. Ratterman (1887–1944) did some Fine Art painting as well as illustration, but the latter is dealt with here. There seems to be little biographical information about him on the internet: this Wikipedia entry has little to report.

As best I can tell, Ratterman was a skilled illustrator, but not quite the equal of top-rank contemporary 1920s and early 1930s practitioners such as Dean Cornwell and Mead Schaeffer.

Examples of his work are lacking on the Internet, but some are displayed below.

Gallery

A Conversation - 1929
Story illustration typical of the kind seen in those days -- nothing special about it.

Madeline's Return - 1922
On the other hand, this earlier work has some merit, though it too is not unusual or exceptional.

Artist and models
Probably from the early-mid 1930s: the women are nicely depicted.

Party scene
From about the same time as the previous image. Something seems wrong about the area of the featured woman's hips. Otherwise, a competently done illustration.

Officer and Lady
I like this one, and wish it were available in larger size.

Procter & Gamble soap advertisement - 1925
An example of the then-popular vignette style, but here for an advertisement rather than as a story illustration.

Maureen
From around 1936. More vignette, but I don't know if it was a commercial work or a painting done for Ratterman's use or for a friend.